Audio GuideNaval Museum

Welcome to the Deniz Müzesi, also known as the Istanbul Naval Museum—the largest museum of its kind in Turkey, dedicated entirely to the nation’s maritime heritage. Situated along the lively waterfront of Beşiktaş, it offers visitors a journey through more than five hundred years of seafaring traditions. Here, the salty air of the Bosphorus mingles with memories of Turkey’s rich naval history.

Alfa Bravo

The museum opened towards the end of the nineteenth century, in the year eighteen ninety-seven. It began modestly as the “Museum and Library Administration”, made possible by Hasan Hüsnü Pasha, a prominent naval minister of the Ottoman Empire, together with the efforts of Colonel Hikmet Bey and Captain Süleyman Nutku. In its early days, the collection was housed within a historic Ottoman shipyard in Kasımpaşa, serving primarily as a military museum—the very first in Turkey.

AYAD H. IBRAHIM

The museum gradually expanded, surviving turbulent times. During the Second World War, its most precious items were transferred to Anatolia for safekeeping. After peace returned, the collection was brought back to Istanbul, first settling in the impressive Dolmabahçe Mosque complex, before moving in nineteen sixty-one to its current location beside the imposing tomb of Admiral Barbaros Hayreddin.

Jonathan Bennett

Today, the museum is spread across three floors, with more than twenty thousand artefacts on display. The galleries, named after the four cardinal winds, showcase an extraordinary range of objects: elegant imperial barges known as “saltanat kayıkları”, intricate ship models, colourful naval uniforms, rare antique maps, and even some of the earliest diving equipment used in Ottoman times. Among the highlights are the rowing boats once used by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey.

Youssef Mohamed

Extensive refurbishments in the year twenty thirteen breathed new life into the museum, updating four grand main halls and seventeen gallery rooms while preserving their historical charm. Everywhere you look—be it the majestic figureheads, age-old navigational instruments, or the impressive weaponry displayed in the outdoor courtyards—you will find echoes of Turkey’s enduring relationship with the sea.

From the far-reaching days of the Ottoman Empire to the present-day Turkish Republic, the Deniz Müzesi stands as both a guardian of tradition and a living centre for learning, inviting visitors of all backgrounds to discover the enduring maritime legacy that has helped shape this nation.